At 1am on the morning of the Barnes Food Fair I looked at all piles of brownies, energy balls, Quiche, cinnamon bites and roasted nuts and suddenly panicked that I didn’t have enough (delusion had clearly set in). In the corner of my eye I saw a big bunch of ripe bananas and a tub of chia seeds and set to making up a big batch of chia and banana muffins.
Lots of you contact me regularly to ask for egg substitutes in my recipes. As brilliant and delicious as eggs are, a lot of people do suffer from egg allergies and it’s one to look out for in kids especially, the main symptoms being:
- Skin inflammation or hives — the most common egg allergy reaction.
- Nasal congestion, runny nose and sneezing (allergic rhinitis)
- Digestive symptoms, such as cramps, nausea and vomiting.
- Asthma signs and symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath.
Three of the best egg substitutes out there are banana, chia (one egg = one tbsp chia +2 tbsp water) and nut butter. So, I thought why not put all three together and see what happened. Now, I can’t STAND bananas so the result is via the mouthes of everyone who tried these at Barnes food Fair, from children to adults, they were one of the most popular things I sold. People were so disappointed when I said I’d sold out but I promised I would be sharing the recipe for everyone to try at home.
These are full of goodness, natural energy and delicious flavour. There’s protein in abundance, potassium, good fats and oodles of freshness. The bananas are naturally sweet so I only added 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. If you are wondering where to get the baking powder, pure maple syrup, almond butter, chia seeds and tapioca flour then I recommend you look no further than my friends at Perfectly Paleo, link here. You can buy all the slightly harder to find Paleo ingredients on their easy online shop (I am not getting paid for this plug, I just l.o.v.e their brand!)
Since making these at BFF I have made them twice more and thankfully the recipe remains a resounding success so I hope that you all enjoy it too. Make sure to tag me in any photos on social media or add your comments below! One of the most frustrating things for me is that it would be the perfect “raw” mixture to lick the bowl clean…..maybe one day I’ll learn to love bananas!
- 2tbsp Chia
- 4 ripe bananas (approx 650g)
- 1 cup almond butter
- 70g ground almonds
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pre-heat oven to 180 ° c
- In to a large mixing bowl place your bananas and mash until smooth and gloopy
- Add in your almond butter and mix thoroughly
- Now fold in the tapioca flour, ground almonds and baking powder and combine
- Add in the maple syrup and mix in
- Add in the chia seeds, mix in and allow to stand for 3-4 minutes
- In to a non stick muffin / cup cake pan place about 1.5tbsp mixture in to each and then place in to the oven for 25 minutes until they have risen and the tops are firm
- They might still feel a little soft, but don't worry- as they cool they will firm up a lot
- Allow to fully cool before taking out of the muffin pan and enjoy!
I have not been endorsed for any brands mentioned in this blog post.
Another wonderful recipe Emi! Great job! X Your USA Friend, Cheryl
When do the ground almonds go in? They’re in the recipe but not the method?
Hi Debbie – sorry about that. Added in, they should be added in with the tapioca. Any more problems do shout! Thank you 🙂
Oops. I just dumped them in at the end as I already had all the ingredients mixed before I realised that they weren’t in! Ah well, fingers crossed. They’re in the oven as we speak 🙂
Oh it doesn’t make any difference any way, none at all! Do they smell good? Can’t wait to hear what you think. Let me know if any more qu’s! X
How were they? :o)
They’re very good. Not too sweet which is just right. I even threw in a handful of cacao nibs! Thanks!
Delicious! :o)
I know you have pictures, but for someone who hasn’t ever used tapioca before please change your recipe to say tapioca flour. I apparently didn’t get tapioca flour and it’s granulated and I think I just ruined the muffins.
Hi Natalie, I have amended the recipe to state tapioca flour. Did the muffins work out or were they disastrous? Best regards, Emma
Cooking as we speak and aoreads in banana muffin heaven eating the raw batter!! Enjoyed these so much at Barnes food fair. Thank you! Louise x
Ooo amazing, can’t wait to hear what you think! That’s the wonderful thing about the batter, as it’s Vegan it’s safe to eat raw! :o) Enjoy and do let me know how they turned out! Emma x
Made these yesterday – so yum! I used peanut butter and I left out the maple syrup – the bananas were sweet enough on their own:) Love a recipe that is tasty enough for an afternoon treat but healthy enough to give the kids for breakfast! I put a photo of my muffins on Instagram @atnumbernine
Thank you so much for commenting :o) I was so excited to see your picture! They looked great and I think the peanut butter is a great addition! Thank you again X
Can I substitute tapioca flour for another flour that is gluten free at all? I don’t have any In and I would like to make these – ps love your blog and instagram
Hi Jodie, Thank you for your message and kind words. The tapioca is used to give them a little spring, however, you could just add a couple more tbsps ground almonds/ almond flour and they will be great. If you have a buckwheat or coconut flour then I would suggest only using 1 tbsp of each as they are much denser and heavier flours. Hope that helps! Do let me know once you’ve made them as I’d love to hear / see the pics! Emma x
Can you make them without nut butter?
So sorry I have only just come across this comment. Coconut butter or seed butter would also work. I have not tried them without nut butter so I cannot guarantee that not using it will work. E x